Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education
The Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education podcast is a platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of educators, students, and mental health professionals to explore the intersections of trauma, survival, resilience, and transformation in education.Through compelling interviews and personal stories, the podcast serves as a bridge between academic leaders, pre-service teachers, students, and those passionate about educational reform. Our mission is to foster critical conversations that lead to actionable change, promote trauma-informed education, and support educators in their pursuit of meaningful, impactful careers.Follow Us:Instagram: @classroomnarrativespodcastFacebook: Classroom Narratives Podcast
Listening Beyond the Answer: Narrative Medicine, Grief, and the Courage to Witness with Dr. Rondalyn Whitney
📝 Episode Synopsis
What happens when we stop trying to fix people's pain and instead learn how to truly witness it?
In this episode of Classroom Narratives, Dr. Joey Weisler welcomes narrative medicine practitioner and occupational therapist Dr. Rondalyn Whitney for a profound conversation on grief, storytelling, and compassionate listening.
The discussion ultimately invites educators to reconsider what it truly means to respond responsibly—not by carrying another person's pain, but by helping them know they do not have to carry it alone.
In this episode, we discuss:
What narrative medicine is—an...Teaching with HEART and SOUL: The HABITS That Evolved Community Beyond Compliance
📝 Episode Synopsis
In the second installment of the HEART series, Dr. Joey Weisler explores the first pillar of the HEART framework: Habits. Reflecting on his early years as a college professor, Joey shares how he once believed academic rigor meant assigning more work—until both his students and his own life revealed a different path.
This episode examines how simple, predictable classroom routines can foster psychological safety, increase student ownership, and strengthen engagement without sacrificing rigor. Through practical examples—from classroom circles and invitational language to flexible assessment choices—Joey argues that effective habits aren't about con...
The Power of Love in Caregiving: Winston Meikle on Connecting With Care Instead of Fear
📝 Episodic Synopsis
What happens when caregiving stops being driven by fear and starts being rooted in connection?
In this deeply reflective episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with nurse leader, educator, healthcare innovator, and author Winston Meikle for a conversation that bridges the worlds of healthcare and education through one shared reality: the emotional weight of caring for others.
Drawing from more than four decades in nursing and patient advocacy, Winston explores burnout, survival mode, patient-centered care, authenticity, and the emotional toll that helping professions often place on...
Teaching with HEART and SOUL: "The Look" That Taught Me to Care, Not Carry
📝 Episode Synopsis
In the first installment of the HEART & SOUL series, Dr. Joey Weisler shares the deeply personal story that helped shape the foundation of the HEART framework. Long before he entered a classroom as a teacher, Joey recognized what he calls "the look"—the quiet expression carried by people who simply want to feel visible.
Through reflections on a high school friendship, and the loss of the friend to suicide, and the lessons learned from years of trying to help others heal through direct intervention efforts, Joey explores the difference between caring for people and c...
Making Moments Matter: Weisler Alumni (Pt. V)-- Growing Up Through Grief, Friendship, and Parkland
📝 Episodic Synopsis
In this special “Weisler Alumni” segment of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler reconnects with Haylie — a former Parkland-area student now studying sociology and higher education at Georgia Southern University. Together, they reflect on growing up in the aftermath of the MSD tragedy, navigating grief during adolescence, and the educators who helped make school feel safe, human, and healing.
Haylie opens up about losing her father to glioblastoma during middle school, the friendships that carried her through, and the classroom environments that helped her breathe during difficult seasons of life. From calming w...
Adjust the Flame: Exploring Anger and Emotional Intelligence in Schools with Dr. Mitch Abrams
📝 Episodic Synopsis
‼️ PROFANITY LANGUAGE ALERT in this episode ‼️
What if anger itself isn’t the problem?
In this powerful episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with psychologist and anger specialist Dr. Mitch Abrams to unpack one of the most misunderstood emotions in education and society.
Drawing from his book I’m Not Fcking Angry: Adjust the Flame to Get What You Want and Need*, Dr. Abrams challenges the idea that anger should simply be suppressed or feared. Instead, he explores the critical distinction between anger and aggression, the...
When Presence Becomes Prevention: School Safety, Trauma, and Educator Voice with Abbey Clements
‼️DISCLAIMER‼️ This segment discusses themes of violence within communities, significantly around Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012). Please take care of yourself while listening.
In this deeply moving episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Abbey Clements, a second-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School during the tragedy of December 14, 2012.
Drawing from the anthology If I Don’t Make It, I Love You, Abbey reflects on survival, grief, educator presence, and the invisible emotional labor teachers carry in the aftermath of collective trauma. Together, Joey and Abbey explore what it means t...
"The Pie Just Gets Bigger”: Parenting, Identity, and Emotional Survival in Schools with Dr. Julie Davelman
What happens when parents, teachers, and students all feel pressure to “get it right” — but nobody was ever given the manual?
In this deeply reflective episode of Classroom Narratives, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with clinical psychologist Dr. Julie Davelman to explore the emotional realities underneath modern education: parent burnout, frustration tolerance, identity formation, perfectionism, divorce, college transition, and the overwhelming pressure families carry while trying to support children “correctly.”
Together, they unpack why so many students struggle not because they lack ability, but because they lack space to fail, recover, and develop resilience. The conversati...
Listening as Witness: How Art, Community, and Invitation Create Space for Healing with Rosa McAllister and Tieshka K. Smith
📝 Episodic Synopsis
What does it mean to truly listen—not just hear, but witness?
In this powerful panel conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler is joined by Rosa McAllister and Tieshka K Smith to explore how intentional listening can transform communities. Drawing from their work on the Listening Loom project and their contributions to Restorative Practices in Education Through the Arts, they unpack how art, storytelling, and human connection create space for healing across cultures, identities, and lived experiences.
From classrooms to community spaces, this episode challenges educators and leaders to rethink participation, redefine safety, and e...
Listening Isn’t Fixing: Creating Space for Presence in the Classroom with Kathryn Pannepacker
📝 Show Synopsis
What if listening wasn’t about responding—but about being present?
In this episode, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with artist Kathryn Pannepacker about “intentional listening” as a practice of care, not correction. Through her Listening Loom project, Kathryn creates spaces where people are asked two simple questions: How are you doing? and What do you need?
Together, they explore how educators can foster connection without becoming “fixers,” why presence matters more than performance, and how small moments of attention can reshape classroom culture.
🔗 Links and Resources
📌 Lisa Kay on the Classroom...
Meeting Your Inner-Hero and Healing Your Inner-Child: with Ron Yap @mentalhealthceo
📝 Show Notes (Key Ideas & Takeaways)
What if healing isn’t just about looking back—but also about learning to listen forward?
In this episode of Classroom Narratives, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Ron Yap (@mentalhealthceo) to explore the dual work of healing the inner child while also meeting the inner hero—the future version of ourselves who has already found meaning, clarity, and direction.
Drawing from his work in Finding Meaning in Life When It Feels Like There Is None, Ron unpacks how people lose their sense of purpose through survival mode, identity...
Empathy Without Self-Abandonment: Unhooking from Survival Mode in Leadership and Teaching with Leila Boutaleb Brousse
🧭 Episodic Synopsis
What if burnout isn’t coming from the workload—but from disconnection?
In this episode of Classroom Narratives, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with leadership expert Leila Boutaleb Brousse, founder of Eyelee Growth and creator of the Unhooked Leadership Method, to explore what it really means to operate in “survival mode”—and why so many educators and leaders feel stuck there.
Leila challenges the idea that empathy alone is enough, introducing a critical distinction: empathy without boundaries isn’t leadership—it’s self-sacrifice. Together, they unpack how people-pleasing, decision fatigue, and chronic overextensi...
Invitation Over Compliance: Design Thinking in Classrooms with Dr. Fred Estes
📝 Episodic Synopsis
What happens when learning stops being about information—and starts becoming about invention?
In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with educator, author, and innovation specialist Dr. Fred Estes to explore how design thinking can transform the classroom into a space of agency, creativity, and real-world impact.
Drawing from decades of experience across K–12 and higher education, Dr. Estes introduces the “ABCs of learning”—Agency, Belonging, and Competence—and challenges educators to move beyond traditional models of instruction that prioritize memorization over meaning.
Together, Joe...
“Changing the Narrative: Identity, Power, and the Weight Educators Carry” with Dr. Dwight “Kofi” Rogers
📝 Episode synopsis
What happens when the world writes your story before you even begin?
In this deeply honest and urgent conversation, Dr. Dwight “Kofi” Rogers—district leader, author of Change the Narrative, Don’t Let the Narrative Change You, and 2025 ACSA Administrator of the Year—joins Dr. Joey Weisler to explore the lived realities of identity, perception, and power in education.
From growing up navigating isolation and racialized narratives in school to leading transformative conversations around equity and belonging, Dr. Rogers unpacks how societal narratives shape both students and educators—and what it takes to active...
“We’re Never Doing Too Much for Kids”: Rethinking Resilience with Dr. Rob Martinez
🎧 Episode Synopsis (for notes/description)
What if resilience isn’t something you “have”…but something that’s built—moment by moment, relationship by relationship?
In this episode of Classroom Narratives, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Dr. Rob Martinez—educator, former superintendent, and author of Recipes for Resilience—to challenge everything we think we know about resilience in schools.
From losing his mother at 13 to rebuilding his life through connection, mentorship, and education, Rob shares a deeply personal story that reshapes resilience as a process rooted in safety, care, and community—not grit alone.
Together...
“I’m Doing My Best”: Burnout, the Nervous System, and the Weight Educators Carry with Dr. Claire Plumbly
📝 Episode Synopsis
In this deeply honest and affirming conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with clinical psychologist Dr. Claire Plumbly to explore the lived reality of burnout—what it is, how it shows up in the body, and why so many educators find themselves quietly unraveling while trying to hold everything together.
Drawing from her work in trauma and her book The Trauma of Burnout, Dr. Plumbly breaks down the difference between stress and burnout, guiding listeners through the emotional, cognitive, and physical signs that often go unnoticed until it’s too late. Together, Joey and Cla...
Windows, Mirrors, and the Stories That Save Us with Dr. Katie Egan Cunningham
📌Episode Synopsis
In this powerful episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with literacy scholar and educator Dr. Katie Egan Cunningham to explore how stories shape the human experience—both inside and outside the classroom.
Together, they examine why stories matter not only as texts but as lived experiences. From novels and playlists to social media and personal memory, stories help young people make sense of the world and themselves. Dr. Cunningham reflects on how literature allows students to see themselves and others through what educators call “windows and mirrors,” while als...
Early Warnings: What Educators Need to Know About Preventing School Violence (with Bruce Liebe)
Episode Synopsis
In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with Bruce Liebe, a retired Illinois State Police officer with over 30 years of law enforcement experience and a longtime instructor in active threat training and tactical response.
Together, they explore the intersection between education and prevention—specifically how educators, administrators, and communities can recognize early warning signs that may indicate a student in distress or at risk of causing harm.
Drawing from research, real cases, and decades of field experience, Bruce explains the five phases many active attackers mo...
Beyond Behavior: Bev Johns on Advocacy, Trauma, and Supporting Teachers Who Speak Up (Bev Johns)
📝 Episode Synopsis (for episode description)
In this powerful conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with nationally recognized special education leader and behavioral consultant Bev Johns, whose four-decade career has helped shape special education law, classroom practice, and behavioral supports across the United States. Bev shares deeply personal stories—from teaching students who were once denied access to school altogether, to advocating for legislation protecting students from harmful disciplinary practices.
Together, they explore what happens when behavior is misunderstood, why teachers’ calls for help often go unheard, and how trauma, anxiety, and invisible disabilities manifest in classro...
More Than Just a Principal: Servant Leadership, Differentiation, and the Human Side of School Leadership (Robert Hinchcliffe)
🗒️ Episodic Synopsis
In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with Principal Robert Hinchcliffe—award-winning school leader, author of More Than Just Principals, and nationally recognized advocate for human-centered school leadership.
Drawing on more than two decades as an elementary school administrator, Hinchcliffe shares what it truly means to lead a school in today’s climate. He reflects on servant leadership, the emotional complexity of guiding teachers and students, and why visibility, relationships, and trust must come before compliance. He challenges rigid curriculum systems, emphasizing the importance of differentiation, teacher autonomy...
From Crisis Response to Proactive Care: Safety, Systems, and Servant Leadership (Part II with Jeremy Brooks)
Episodic Synopsis
In Part II of this conversation with Jeremy Brooks, Classroom Narratives shifts from leadership identity to leadership responsibility — exploring school safety, crisis response, and the systems that support students, educators, and families during difficult moments.
Jeremy reflects on guiding school communities through loss, the importance of transparent communication during crises, and the responsibility educators carry in balancing emotional care with professional boundaries. Together, he and Dr. Joey Weisler discuss proactive safety planning, SEL practices across disciplines, and the role of and PBIS frameworks in creating supportive school climates.
At the center of...
More Than a Title: Leadership Through Service and Presence (Part I with Jeremy Brooks)
Episode Synopsis
In Part I of this two-part conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with educator, former principal, doctoral researcher, and media host Jeremy Brooks to explore what leadership truly looks like during difficult moments in education.
Drawing from his journey from classroom teacher to administrator to founder of Brooks Broadcasting, Jeremy reflects on how leadership is not defined by titles, but by presence, integrity, and service to students and educators. Together, Joey and Jeremy discuss teacher burnout, compassion fatigue, the importance of visible leadership in school communities, and how trauma-informed practices can shape healthier...
The Invitation to Play: Building Community Through Storytelling with Rachael Harrington
📌 Episode Synopsis
In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with storyteller and teaching artist Rachael Harrington to explore how storytelling can rebuild connection, imagination, and community in the aftermath of isolation and disruption.
Drawing from her background as a middle school art teacher and illustrator, Rachael shares how the “invitation to play” became central to her teaching philosophy and later evolved into her storytelling work with schools, libraries, and families. She reflects on creating Morning Circle during the COVID shutdown, using stories and art-making to provide routine, creativity, and emo...
Rising Through the Unknown: Advocacy, Trust, and the Families Schools Don’t Always See--with Mark Ingrassia
📝 Episodic Synopsis
What does it really mean to rise when the special education system feels overwhelming, opaque, and emotionally exhausting?
In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing and Education, Dr. Joey Weisler is joined by Mark Ingrassia, longtime special education advocate, former teacher, parent-coach, and founder of Special Ed Rising: No Parent Left Behind. Together, they explore what families are facing behind the scenes—burnout, fear, withheld information, and the constant pressure to advocate without clear guidance.
Mark shares both professional insight and lived experience, offering a compassionate look at why parents need trust...
A Conversation With Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf (Pt II): Teaching in the Riptide: Trauma, Authority, and the Ethics of Response in the Classroom
🧭 Episodic Synopsis
In Part II of this conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down again with educator-scholar Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf to examine what happens after disruption—when trauma, authority, and behavior collide in the classroom. Moving beyond theory, this episode focuses on the ethical decisions educators must make in real time: when to intervene, when to pause, and when restraint is the most powerful pedagogical move.
Drawing from personal experience—including a formative moment as a Harvard undergraduate, classroom eruptions involving student crisis, and decades of teaching across secondary and higher education—Wolfsdorf interrogates how educa...
A Conversation With Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf (Pt I): Teaching in the Riptide: Subversion, Power, and the Moments That Redefine the Classroom
🧭 Episodic Synopsis
In this return conversation (since spring 2025), Dr. Joey Weisler welcomes back Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf—English educator, scholar, and author of Teaching in the Riptide—for a deep exploration of the moments in education that pull teachers off balance and force reckoning, reflection, and growth. Drawing on vivid classroom narratives, Dr. Wolfsdorf introduces the metaphor of the “riptide”: those unpredictable, disorienting moments that no amount of lesson planning or graduate training can fully prepare educators for.
Together, Weisler and Wolfsdorf examine obstructive and constructive subversions, unpacking how power shifts in classrooms when students challenge authority...
A Conversation With Christopher S. Mukiibi (Part II): Connection Is the Cure: Burnout, Belonging, and the Future of Teaching
📘 Episodic Synopsis
In Part II of this two-part conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler and Christopher S. Mukiibi turn toward the heart of the work: connection, burnout, courage, and the deep human need to feel seen. Chris shares what his burnout research revealed — that connection, not rest alone, is what keeps teachers alive in the work — and how isolation inside classrooms can quietly erode purpose.
The conversation explores imposter syndrome, the nervous system in schools, public skepticism toward education, and why many educators still do the work despite misunderstanding or dismissal. Joey and Chris also reflect on the lif...
A Conversation With Christopher S. Mukiibi (Part I): Real Learning Beyond Trauma and How Education Helps Us Suffer Less
📘 Episodic Synopsis
In this powerful conversation, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with educator, mentor, and creator Christopher S. Mukiibi to explore what real learning actually is—and why education must help students suffer less, not just perform better. Drawing from his own first year of teaching after the pandemic, his “Learning Compass” framework, and his experiences supporting students living through trauma, Chris speaks candidly about apathy, burnout, literacy, discipline, identity, and the deep human need for connection in schools.
Together, Joey and Chris discuss how literacy gives language to pain, how students “act out” experiences they cannot y...
Making Moments Matter: Weisler Alumni (Pt. IV) -- Returning to College After Service: Trauma, Voice, and the Student Experience
🧭 Episodic Synopsis
In this Weisler Alumni segment of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Tom —Army Reserve Staff Sergeant, communications specialist, husband, and returning college student—to explore what happens when education becomes a space for recovery rather than survival.
Reflecting on his experience growing up in an underfunded rural school system, Tom shares how rigid, checkbox-driven classrooms pushed him away from higher education—and how the military unexpectedly reintroduced him to learning as a form of leadership, reflection, and meaning-making. Through trauma-informed writing, open classroom design, and mentorship-centered dialogue, Tom descr...
Making Moments Matter: Weisler Alumni (Pt. III) —Beyond Survival: Finding Voice and Purpose as a Student in Higher Education (reflection by Dieunise Pacius)
🎧 Episodic Synopsis
In this powerful alumni spotlight episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler reconnects with a former student, Dieunise, for an unfiltered conversation about what it truly means to be a student in today’s education system. From K–12 classrooms to college lecture halls, Dieunise reflects on how education has shifted from learning to survival—and why that shift is failing so many students.
As a film and video student navigating an underfunded arts pathway, Dieunise shares the stark contrast between institutional support for STEM students and the isolation experienced by students...
Making Moments Matter: Weisler Alumni (Pt. II) —Designing Classrooms with Voice and Ownership (Florence Shirman)
🧠 Episodic Synopsis
In this student-voice segment of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with former student Florence Shirman, a neuroscience and behavior major at Florida Atlantic University, to reflect on what learning feels like when education moves beyond grades and toward meaning.
Florence speaks candidly about her journey through school—from early experiences shaped by internal pressure rather than external expectations, to a college classroom where choice, conversation, and community transformed how she engaged with writing and learning. She shares how her semester-long Your Voice, Your Change project allowed her to respo...
Where Art Holds the Weight: Restorative Classrooms, Clear Boundaries, and the Role of Art with Dr. Lisa Kay
🔗 Show Notes
In this episode, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Dr. Lisa Kay—art therapist, professor, and national leader in art education—to unpack why classrooms can feel restorative but are not therapy rooms.
Dr. Kay breaks down the essential differences between therapeutic spaces and clinical spaces, offers four pillars that make classrooms safer (predictability, flexibility, connection, empowerment), and explains how art-making helps students hold stress, regain control, and express what words can’t.
She also draws a clear boundary between art facilitation and art therapy, while sharing practical, classroom-ready art practices like “Str...
What Literacy Really Looks Like—in Policy, in Classrooms, and in the Communities Kids Call Home (Dr. Susan B. Neuman)
📘 Episodic Synopsis
In this powerful episode, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with Dr. Susan B. Neuman—NYU Professor of Childhood Education, former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary & Secondary Education, and one of the most influential voices in early literacy. Together they trace the complex landscape of American reading practices, the politicization of literacy, and what it truly takes to build lifelong readers.
Dr. Neuman challenges traditional narratives about literacy by reframing it as both a social experience and a community-driven practice, while naming the systemic forces that shape how children learn. From laundromats to groce...
From Disillusionment to Fulfillment: Teaching with the HEART...A Mindset by Dr. Joey Weisler
In this deeply personal solo segment, Dr. Joey Weisler traces the journey from his childhood dream of teaching, to the profound disillusionment he faced entering the classroom months after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas tragedy, to the transformation that led him toward resilience, boundary-setting, and wholehearted teaching.
Drawing on stories from his first year in the classroom, his doctoral research, and the wisdom of his kindergarten teacher Ms. Lynch, Dr. Weisler introduces The H.E.A.R.T. Mindset—a trauma-informed, relationship-centered approach rooted in Habits, Engagement, Awareness, Resilience, and Telling Stories.
This episode reframes what it...
Thrillers, Humanity, and the Classroom: Inside the Mind of Author and Educator Lincoln James
📘 Episode Synopsis
In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing and Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with author and educator Lincoln James, whose work spans decades, genres, and emotional terrain. Known for his haunting thrillers and his compassionate presence in the classroom, Lincoln shares how his novels—We Are Human, Written Just for You, The Vanishing Eight, and more—explore the unspoken corners of grief, love, and identity. Together, they unpack how storytelling can be both a survival instinct and an act of healing, and why the same empathy that drives a good novel can transform how we teac...
Safe Enough: Redefining Healing, Safety, and Story with Dr. Jamie Marich
📘 Episode Synopsis
In this deeply reflective episode, Dr. Joey Weisler welcomes Dr. Jamie Marich—trauma specialist, expressive artist, author of over a dozen books, and founder of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. Together, they explore how trauma is not a life sentence but an unhealed wound that can mend through care, validation, and creative expression. From the limits of “safe space” language to the role of belonging, narrative, and authenticity in classrooms, this conversation bridges psychology and pedagogy with heart. Dr. Marich’s lived experience and clinical insight invite us to see healing as both personal and collective—...
A Two-Part Conversation With Dr. Matthew Arau: Circles, Culture, and the Power of GET (Pt II: The Outter-Work)
Episodic Synopsis
In Part Two, Dr. Matthew Arau shares practical ways to transform classrooms through circles, peer-to-peer leadership, and his Power of GET — a mindset of gratitude, enthusiasm, and treasure that helps teachers and students thrive
🔗 Featured Links & Resources
Power of GET Discover Dr. Arau’s signature mindset shift — moving from “have to” to “get to” — with resources, stories, and tools to help you bring gratitude, enthusiasm, and treasure into your daily practice.
Power of GET – Leadership Quiz Take a free 4-question quiz to uncover your GET leadership style (Grower, Energizer, or Trailblazer) and r...
A Two-Part Conversation With Dr. Matthew Arau: Joy, Trust, and the Inner Upbeat (Pt I: The Inner-Work)
Episodic Synopsis
In Part One, Dr. Matthew Arau shares how educators can find joy and trust even in the midst of burnout. He unpacks the six human needs, the difference between joy and happiness, and why the inner work of mindset sets the tone for our classrooms.
🔗 Featured Links & Resources
Power of GET Discover Dr. Arau’s signature mindset shift — moving from “have to” to “get to” — with resources, stories, and tools to help you bring gratitude, enthusiasm, and treasure into your daily practice.
Power of GET – Leadership Quiz Take a free 4-question qui...
Beyond Bias: Building Inclusive Classrooms and Counseling with Dr. Alex Fields
📖 Episodic Synopsis
In this episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler speaks with Dr. Alexander Fields—Assistant Professor of counselor education at Florida Atlantic University, licensed professional counselor, and nationally certified counselor. Together, they explore Dr. Fields' groundbreaking work in suicide prevention among young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), his BEAM curriculum (Bias Exploration and Awareness in Mental health diagnosis), and why systemic change is urgently needed in both education and mental health care.
Listeners will hear practical strategies for trauma-informed classrooms, stories that reveal the hidden signs students use when...
Rewriting the Stars – Music, Mental Health, and Youth Empowerment with Emma G
Episodic Synopsis
In this powerful episode of Classroom Narratives: Healing in Education, Dr. Joey Weisler sits down with award-winning musician, author, and youth empowerment coach Emma G. From surviving ten brain surgeries to transforming classrooms through songwriting, Emma shares how music can help students process emotions, confront trauma, and reclaim their voice. Drawing from her Māori heritage, teaching background, and her Youth Empowerment Through Songwriting program, Emma offers educators practical ways to move beyond compliance-driven teaching toward safe, creative, and student-centered learning. This conversation blends artistry, resilience, and practical strategy for anyone passionate about reimagining education.
